Use Of Operations Research Techniques Research Articles

EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF PHARMACY OPERATIONS THROUGH OPERATIONS RESEARCH TECHNIQUES

This article discusses the use of operations research techniques to improve the management of pharmacy operations. In the context of Pharmacy Management Information Systems, some of the OR techniques that could be used are: Linear Programming (LP), Queueing Theory, Simulation, Decision Analysis, Forecasting, Network Analysis. The aim of applying operations research is to make it easier for pharmacy owners to manage their businesses by streamlining the process through the use of mathematical and quantitative methods. Operations Research (OR) is a problem-solving approach that involves analyzing and optimizing complex systems. In the context of Pharmacy Management Information Systems (PMIS), the study covers a wide range of areas such as sales inventory, stocks inventory, purchases (orders, receipts), payroll, accounting, financial management, sales reports (daily, monthly, yearly), and the pharmacy prescription book (for senior citizens and persons with disabilities). Additionally, a point of sale (POS) system has been built into the application, which can be used in both single and multi-user environments. The Pharmacy Automate or PMIS is a Windows-based operating system that can significantly improve pharmacy business operations by automating the entire process and helping owners keep track of their inventory and other important aspects of the business. The use of OR techniques has proven to be very useful in the more complex fields of pharmacy business operations.

Use of operational research techniques for concrete mix design: A systematic review

Traditional methods for designing concrete mixtures provide good results; however, they do not guarantee the optimum composition. Consequently, applying operational research techniques is motivated by an increasing need for designers to proportion the concrete's raw materials that satisfy the concrete performance requirements such as mechanical properties, chemical properties, workability, sustainability, and cost. For this reason, many authors have been looking for mathematical programming and machine learning solutions to predict concrete mix properties and optimise concrete mixtures. Therefore, a comprehensive review of operational research techniques concerning the design and proportioning of concrete mixtures and a classification framework are presented herein.

A review on the use of operational research techniques in the medical records department

Introduction: Various operational research (OR) techniques have been used in different areas of healthcare. One of the areas in which OR techniques can be effective is the medical records department (MRD). The aim of this study is to review the applications of OR in the management of MRD and its related processes. Methods: This is a review article. In order to collect data, English-language studies published between 2000 and 2018, related to the use of OR techniques in MRD, in the Medline, Science Direct, ProQuest and Web of science databases were investigated. From 1165 retrieved studies, 19 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final review. Results: The results showed that different OR techniques such as linear programming, integer programming, simulation, hierarchical analysis process, etc. have been used in various aspects of the MRD and its ongoing processes such as improving efficiency, workload management, resource allocation, optimal scheduling of staff work hours, patient scheduling, patient admission and discharge. Conclusion: It can be concluded that if the managers and experts of MRD and health information management become familiar with the principles and techniques of OR and become aware of the importance of these techniques in improving efficiency of MRD, there is a hope that in the future these techniques will find their true place in MRD and ultimately enhance the quality of services provided to patients.

A Narrative Literature Review on Human Resource Planning for Palliative Care Personnel.

A literature search was started with the objective of finding works pertaining to the use of operations research techniques in planning for human resources in palliative care. Since the search indicated that there is no such work, in this paper, we report on the literature on workforce planning and human resource planning for palliative care personnel. Using our findings, we discuss the factors that influence the supply and demand for the palliative care workforce. Our results show that the enhancement of efficiency, training more primary caregivers to deliver palliative care, and allowing for mid-career specialist training are practical ways to compensate for the gap between the supply and demand in the palliative care workforce.

How many nurses do we need? A review and discussion of operational research techniques applied to nurse staffing

Despite a long history of health services research that indicates that having sufficient nursing staff on hospital wards is critical for patient safety, and sustained interest in nurse staffing methods, there is a lack of agreement on how to determine safe staffing levels. For an alternative viewpoint, we look to a separate body of literature that makes use of operational research techniques for planning nurse staffing. Our goal is to provide examples of the use of operational research approaches applied to nurse staffing, and to discuss what they might add to traditional methods.The paper begins with a summary of traditional approaches to nurse staffing and their limitations. We explain some key operational research techniques and how they are relevant to different nurse staffing problems, based on examples from the operational research literature. We identify three key contributions of operational research techniques to these problems: “problem structuring”, handling complexity and numerical experimentation.We conclude that decision-making about nurse staffing could be enhanced if operational research techniques were brought in to mainstream nurse staffing research. There are also opportunities for further research on a range of nurse staff planning aspects: skill mix, nursing work other than direct patient care, quantifying risks and benefits of staffing below or above a target level, and validating staffing methods in a range of hospitals.

Dimensionamento e alocação dinâmica de veículos no transporte rodoviário de cargas completas entre terminais

Resumo Este artigo trata do Problema da Alocação Dinâmica de Veículos (PADV) no transporte rodoviário de cargas completas entre terminais, incluindo o dimensionamento da frota adicional necessária para o atendimento de demandas em um horizonte de planejamento multi-períodos e finito. O PADV consiste em definir “movimentos” de uma frota de veículos que realiza viagens entre terminais geograficamente dispersos que interagem entre si. Estes movimentos podem ser: veículos carregados com carga completa, vazios para reposicionamento, ou mantidos em um terminal de um período para outro como provisão para o atendimento de demandas futuras. A ênfase é dada na caracterização do problema em situações reais, na modelagem matemática do problema por meio de programação linear inteira e na solução deste utilizando um pacote comercial de otimização. Os experimentos computacionais realizados indicam que essa abordagem pode ser útil para a solução de problemas encontrados no dia a dia de uma empresa transportadora de carga parcelada no Brasil.

Decision Making with Operations Research in Global Business

The Operations Research is one of the employing technique used very much for make better decisions in the global business. Research has shown that majority of managers in global business organizations use of operations research techniques. The objective of this paper is to discuss the principles and ideas of Operations Research which are very helpful in a dynamic, complex and competitive business environment. To achieve the aim of the paper, this paper examines the nature of Operations Research, the Operations Research techniques available for managers and the various areas of operation where they can be applied. Therefore, this paper reviews the application of Operations Research to the Global business organizations to take the effective and consistent decision making to achieve business excellence.

Some Trends and Applications of Operational Research/Management Science to Operations Management

The editor suggested us to write about our point of view on the current use of Operations Research techniques applied to the Operations Management and about its future evolution. With some of unconsciousness we accept it, but it is obvious that our vision, even though we try to do our best, will be partial and biased. Hence the title chosen shows signs of prudence. More caution have been applied to the development where, after a glance at the past and reflection on the abundance of new denominations without content, we consider five aspects that, nowadays, acquire increasing importance and that will strongly influence in future developments. Among the five aspects two correspond to trends in the field of operations research techniques, one is a philosophy in the field of operations management, another to an area of the company and the last one to an industrial sector in which operations management, supported by operations research methods, is taking a predominant role.

State of the Practice: A Review of the Application of OR/MS in Freight Transportation

Freight transportation is an important part of the global supply chain. As distances shipped grow and supply chains become more complex and fragile, operations research (OR) can play an important role in improving the efficiency and robustness of supply networks. This article describes the state of the practice in OR and freight transportation, highlighting recent successful and widely used analytical techniques in oceanic transportation and port operations, and barge, freight rail, intermodal, truckload, less than truckload, and air freight transportation, as well as the use of OR techniques in third-party logistics.

Operations research within UK healthcare: a review

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the existing literature on the wide range of operations research (OR) studies applied to healthcare, and to classify studies based on application type and on the OR technique employed. The scope of the review is limited to studies which have been undertaken in the UK, and to papers published since the year 2000.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 142 high‐quality journal and conference papers have been identified from ISI Web of Knowledge data base for review and analysis.FindingsThe findings categorise the OR techniques employed, and analyse the application type, publication trends, funding, and software packages used in the twenty‐first century in UK healthcare. Publication trends indicate an increasing use of OR techniques in UK healthcare. The findings show that, interestingly, the distribution of the OR techniques employed is not uniform; the majority of studies focus on simulation, either as the only technique employed or as one element of a multi‐method approach.Originality/valueSeveral studies have focused on the use of simulation in healthcare modelling, but none has methodologically reviewed the use of the full range of OR techniques. This research is likely to benefit healthcare decision makers since it will provide them with an overview of the different studies that have utilised multiple OR techniques for investigating problems in the stated domain.

Making Use of Operations Research Techniques in Nigerian Business Organizations

Operations Research is a problem solving and decision-making science. It is a kit of scientific and programmable rules that provide managers at all levels with a quantitative basis for decision-making. However, research has indicated that majority of managers in Nigerian business organizations do not make use of operations research techniques. The principles and concepts of Operations Research could be very helpful in a dynamic, competitive and complex business environment like the Nigerian business environment. In order to provide an understanding of the role of Operations Research in business decision making, this paper examines the nature of Operations Research, the Operations Research techniques available for managers and the various areas of operation where they can be applied. Finally, recommendations as to how its use could be enhanced are proposed.

Operations Research Techniques for Scheduling Chile's Second Division Soccer League

In this paper, we use operations research (OR) techniques to schedule the Second Division of the Chilean professional soccer league. The solution must satisfy a series of conditions requested by league officials. Because the teams generally travel long distances by bus, geographical restrictions are particularly important. We specify the scheduling problem and solve it using an integer linear programming (ILP) model that defines when and where each match is played, subject to constraints. For the most difficult instances, we formulate a second ILP model that generates home-away patterns and assigns them to the teams; we then run the model, which determines the match schedule. Chilean league officials have successfully used the models to schedule all five Second Division tournaments between 2007 and 2010, replacing the random scheduling methodology that they used previously. Since 2007, the two formulations have been adapted to various formats with which the Second Division has experimented; these include a quadruple round robin and a two-phase tournament with zonal and national phases. The application we present is one of a number of such projects that the authors and their colleagues developed over the past few years, and it represents an expansion of the use of OR techniques for managing tasks in Chilean soccer.

A comprehensive simulation for wait time reduction and capacity planning applied in general surgery

This paper describes the use of operational research techniques to analyze the wait list for the Division of General Surgery at the Capital District Health Authority in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. A discrete event simulation model was developed to aid capacity planning decisions and to analyze the performance of the division. The analysis examined the consequences of redistributing beds between sites, and achieving standard patient lengths of stay, while contrasting them to current and additional resource options. From the results, multiple independent and combined options for stabilizing and decreasing waits for elective procedures were proposed.

The key literature of, and trends in, forest-level management planning in North America, 1950–2001

SUMMARY An increase in the use of operations research techniques for forest-level planning, as expressed by publication of papers in peerreviewed North American forestry journals, is illustrated by the number of papers published that describe a mathematical problem formulation, or model used, and demonstrates an application of the planning process. A shift in planning from a dependence on linear programming to heuristics is evidenced through the literature review, although linear programming and its derivatives continue to be used to demonstrate the development of strategic forest plans, plans without spatial components, or relaxed solutions to more complex forest planning problems. Initially, wood production and economic goals dominated the themes of journal articles, but just as the forest management environment has evolved to include an explicit recognition of non-timber goals, so have mathematical programming techniques evolved to support the development of forest plans with non-timber goals. Spatial components within forest planning processes have also increased dramatically in the last decade, as resource goals that key off of the juxtaposition of activities have become increasingly important. Finally, two North American forestry journals, the Canadian Journal of Forest Research and Forest Science, have become the predominant sources of forest-level planning literature that focuses on forest planning problem formulations and examples of the use of mathematical programming techniques in forest-level planning.

The Location of Public Schools: Evaluation of Practical Experiences

This paper discusses practical experiences resulting from the use of Operations Research techniques for the location of elementary public schools in large urban settings. The experiences reported are based on two counties of the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In these relatively poor areas walking is the most common means of traveling to school, and the ideal location is the one that minimizes the sum of the overall residence‐to‐school distances. The model used was the uncapacitated p‐median, but current capacities of existing schools have been introduced in the interpretation of the results. In both counties, the study first evaluated the existing spatial distribution of schools and then proceeded to propose their ideal location. Both analyses lead to short and long‐run managerial suggestions. A description of the practical status of the study is also included.

The location of public schools: Evaluation of practical experiences

This paper discusses practical experiences resulting from the use of Operations Research techniques for the location of elementary public schools in large urban settings. The experiences reported are based on two counties of the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In these relatively poor areas walking is the most common means of traveling to school, and the ideal location is the one that minimizes the sum of the overall residence-to-school distances. The model used was the uncapacitated p-median, but current capacities of existing schools have been introduced in the interpretation of the results. In both counties, the study first evaluated the existing spatial distribution of schools and then proceeded to propose their ideal location. Both analyses lead to short and long-run managerial suggestions. A description of the practical status of the study is also included.

Operations research techniques in manufacturing planning and control systems

This paper investigates the possible uses for operations research (OR) models and techniques in manufacturing planning and control (MPC) systems. We discuss various MPC problems where OR can be applied and the potential inclusion of such models in computer-aided MPC systems. It is found that even though the use of OR techniques in current standard MPC packages is rather restricted, there is a potential for utilizing more OR techniques in computer-aided MPC systems, at least in theory. In practice, OR-related techniques are more often developed as stand-alone systems for decision support as a complement to the MPC system. In this paper, specific OR techniques are discussed for specific MPC problems in terms of applicability and the appropriate type of software solution; none at all, stand-alone system or integrated part of the MPC system.

Operations Research Techniques in Manufacturing Planning and Control Systems

This paper investigates the possible uses for operations research (OR) models and techniques in manufacturing planning and control (MPC) systems. We discuss various MPC problems where OR can be applied and the potential inclusion of such models in computer‐aided MPC systems. It is found that even though the use of OR techniques in current standard MPC packages is rather restricted, there is a potential for utilizing more OR techniques in computer‐aided MPC systems, at least in theory. In practice, OR‐related techniques are more often developed as stand‐alone systems for decision support as a complement to the MPC system. In this paper, specific OR techniques are discussed for specific MPC problems in terms of applicability and the appropriate type of software solution; none at all, stand‐alone system or integrated part of the MPC system.

User-oriented operations research software

Significant advances in computer hardware and software have prompted the accelerated development of operations research (OR) software. Recently, a widespread interest has emerged in the design of user-oriented model-user interfaces that make existing OR methodologies readily available to practitioners. The feasibility of these systems has created new dimensions in the development of model generators that facilitate the use of OR techniques. This paper describes several programs that take advantage of some of the features of the microcomputer to assist the user in data input and editing, error detection in data entry, as well as model generation. The software illustrates different levels of ease of learning and use, modeling flexibility, and assistance to the user in the modeling effort, as well as in interactive decision making. It also illustrates different levels of user-program interaction.

The Nozzle Guide Vane Problem

The nozzle guide vane problem addresses the issue of maximizing the number of aircraft gas turbine engine nozzles that can be assembled, within strict specifications, from an inventory of nozzle guide vanes. Past research efforts have decomposed this problem into two related problems: (1) the assignment of nozzle guide vanes in inventory to a nozzle, and (2) the uniform sequencing of the vanes that have been assigned to a nozzle. Both of these problems have been shown to be NP-hard. Consequently, to obtain an efficient system that may be used effectively in a real-time manufacturing environment, we developed heuristic procedures and showed them to be effective in solving these problems. We describe the nozzle guide vane problem in detail and trace some of the developments in measurement technology that fostered the realization of the problem and facilitated the use of operations research techniques to solve it. We then develop a procedure for the uniform sequencing of a heterogeneous set of vanes within a nozzle. Empirically, the procedure is shown to be effective and requires a computational effort that is acceptable for practical implementation in a real-time manufacturing environment. This procedure, combined with those from past research, has been designed into a system that has been successfully implemented in practice. We use an actual vane inventory to demonstrate the use of the system, and discuss some short term benefits and expected long term benefits that have been and may be realized through the use of the system.